In 2024, Apple launched a ton of recent options in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, and watchOS 11. Lots of these options are the type that I’ve been wanting for some time, akin to iPhone Mirroring on macOS Sequoia and native ChatGPT help on iOS 18.
Whereas Apple did tackle lots of our needs and points in 2024, a number of options nonetheless stay on the OS want listing. With WWDC six months away, I’m wanting ahead to what Apple has in retailer–here’s what I’m hoping Apple will introduce in its software program in 2025.
iOS 19
Apple Intelligence in iOS 18 has been a little bit of a disappointment. The AI suite hasn’t totally materialized but and its total execution is underwhelming in comparison with the competitors. With iOS 19, I hope Apple begins taking synthetic intelligence extra significantly.
This might be by way of superior picture modifying functionalities past the rudimentary Clear Up instrument. It might additionally port Safari’s webpage summarization characteristic to the Information app, as that’s the place hundreds of thousands of customers learn their day by day dose of articles. Moreover, Apple might get extra artistic and add a devoted picture generator within the Wallpaper settings, letting customers simply create and go for distinctive seems to be by way of textual content prompts. It’s not just like the current default choices are significantly better than AI artwork.
AI-based picture technology looks like a match for iOS’s wallpaper
choices.
Foundry
The purpose is injecting Apple Intelligence deeply into the system, moderately than providing it as a skinny layer that enhances the prevailing OS. A devoted Siri app would even be a welcome iOS 19 addition, the place customers would get to view their chat historical past or have audio conversations like OpenAI’s Superior Voice. A Siri icon already exists on macOS—all we want now’s the app itself.
In addition to AI upgrades, I hope iOS 19 supercharges the Motion button by letting customers assign a number of duties. Whereas that is already achievable with the Shortcuts app, a local execution could be superior. A light-weight click on might set off an motion, two consecutive gentle clicks might provoke a special activity, whereas the prevailing lengthy press would activate a 3rd possibility. Proper now, even with Shortcuts, we’re restricted to the lengthy press, which, in my view, wastes the button’s potential.
One other iOS characteristic I hope we see in 2025 is a Spotify Join equal for Apple Music. The previous firm has supplied its instrument for years throughout all types of various working techniques, whereas Apple struggles to develop an analogous resolution for its so-called seamless ecosystem. Handoff from iPhone to HomePod shouldn’t be it.
Lastly, the choice to manually add QR codes to Apple Pockets could be welcome. Proper now, it’s potential to generate customized Pockets playing cards, however that requires counting on and sending doubtlessly delicate information to 3rd events.
The revival of Boot Camp could be an enormous victory for Mac customers.
Foundry
macOS 16
macOS in its present kind will get the job performed for me, and nothing about it actively bothers me. Nonetheless, there are some perks Apple ought to add with macOS 16 to additional enrich it. For starters, an overhauled Launchpad is lengthy overdue. The agency might undertake an App Library-like method to streamline the Mac and iPhone. This could additionally spare customers from manually organizing a number of pages of apps and needing to create folders accordingly.
Cosmetics apart, now that Home windows helps ARM, Apple ought to revive Boot Camp, which was killed on M-powered Macs. Whereas glorious virtualization options like Parallels exist, a first-party possibility could be higher optimized and free to make use of.
To simplify macOS (and increase paid iCloud subscriptions), Apple must also carry iCloud machine backups to the Mac. This could let customers a minimum of again up their preferences to the cloud, and optionally embody their recordsdata in the event that they don’t outweigh the storage quota.
iPadOS 19
Proper now, it feels just like the iPad is caught in limbo. It neither works like an iPhone or a Mac. Regardless of the iPad Professional packing the mighty M4 chip, it continues to function like a stretched iPhone of types.
Whereas I do know it doubtless received’t occur throughout my lifetime, I want iPadOS 19 would help putting in DMG recordsdata. Or, on the very least (and to take care of its tight grip), let customers obtain optimized Mac apps on the App Retailer to their iPads. By this radical change, the flagship iPads would lastly take advantage of out of their processors and higher compete towards tablets working full-fledged variations of Home windows.
A clearer identification for the iPad could be preferrred for 2025.
Mahmoud Itani
iPadOS 19 ought to redesign the Notification Middle to make the most of the big show. One resembling the Mac’s right-side panel would complement the pill. Alternatively, it might merge it with the Management Middle, because the latter doesn’t make the most of the full-screen actual property, both.
Past that, I usually want Apple would supply a Books+ subscription service, rivaling the likes of Amazon Kindle Limitless. Having hundreds of choices to learn from for a good month-to-month payment would encourage me to make use of its app extra.
watchOS 12
Apple has explicitly acknowledged that it’s not inquisitive about supporting third-party watch faces, because it fears newer OS updates would break them. Properly, I’ve another in thoughts. What if watchOS 12 would a minimum of let customers combine and match between a number of first-party faces by selecting the font, type, construction, and so on., by way of a considerably primary face builder within the iPhone’s Watch app? This could protect Apple’s management over face parts and efficiency whereas letting customers correctly customise their smartwatches past their restricted seems to be.
As a digital nomad dwelling alone out of the country, I additionally hope watchOS 12 introduces a characteristic just like the Google Pixel Watch 3’s skill to detect lack of pulse and mechanically name emergency providers. Apple usually boasts about its lifesaving gadgets, and such an addition would make many people really feel extra comfortable.
Third-party watch faces are a longshot, however how about expanded customization instruments to make the equipped watch faces extra distinctive?
Mahmoud Itani
watchOS 12 must also higher make the most of the info Apple Watch collects throughout exercises, on a regular basis actions, and sleep. Many third-party apps already supply extra superior evaluation of 1’s total well-being and physique battery, whereas watchOS 11 continues to limit customers to a primary Vitals app.
Refining the imperfections
iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS have matured. At this level, all of them supply the principle characteristic units customers typically count on from them. The iPhone is among the best-selling smartphones as a result of it excels at what it does. Equally, the Mac helps numerous creatives, professionals, and college students carry out on a regular basis duties reliably. Regardless of that, there are nonetheless loads of lacking options that would complement Apple’s platforms and push them ahead.
Not one of the absent choices are a dealbreaker to me, as my gadgets serve me as supposed. Nonetheless, by increasing their capabilities extra and bundling quality-of-life enhancements, it additional refines the ecosystem many shoppers fail to flee and doubtlessly attracts these counting on different working techniques.
Finally, we’ll discover out what Apple has in retailer for us in June when it previews iOS 19, watchOS 12, macOS 16, and iPadOS 19 throughout WWDC25’s opening keynote.
